Mythic, 2 Stars
Charing Cross Theatre
1st Oct to 25th Nov 2018
“The relationship between a mother and her teenage daughter can be sheer Hell – especially if that daughter is a Greek goddess with a taste for the Underworld. MYTHIC, by Marcus Stevens (Book and Lyrics) and Oran Eldor (Music), turns the ancient Greek story of Persephone on its head, with the gods as chart-topping rock stars, power-hungry politicians, and professional VIPs.
In a world of Olympian celebrity, Persephone struggles between her mother Demeter’s expectations and a desire to find her own path. But her wish for independence comes back to bite her when she gets trapped in the Hell with Greece’s perennial bad boy, Hades. The journey that follows is an offbeat, emotionally-charged tale for ancient and modern times.”
Review by Richard Lambert, 2 Stars
More of a concert than a musical, it’s hard to know the target audience for Mythic.
It’s fun, frothy, colourful and bright without any discernable message. That’s not necessarily a bad thing however without any children in the audience it lacks the punch an older audience would expect from such a fanciful story.
We have earth and the “underworld” which is most likely supposed to be “Hell”. But this Hell is quite pleasantly bright, no flames, no dark moody atmosphere, no clanking chains soundscape. Even the “Gardens of Punishment” lack any form of background screams. The Sound of the mic’d singers was loud and piercing.
The opening costumes for the men are grey T-shirts and ill-fitting grey slacks. The Set is a decent design but beyond that there are only minimal props such as ice cream cones, a few green balls of foliage, and 4 x black cubes to sit or stand on. More minimal than the smallest of London fringe venues.
Without Sound Effects and a Hell looking pretty swathed in pinks, teal, magentas and bright the drama is sadly lacking. And don’t sit in the front 3 rows unless you want to be blinded by lights in your eyes.
With a strong cast it’s a shame that the story and lack of creativity let’s them down. Stand out performances from Michael Mather in his professional debut role as Hades and Daniella Bowen as Demeter. Sadly both were only given one costume for the entire show. Daniella has some lovely songs but left alone and static on a fully lit large stage lacks the intimacy some of her songs required. “Park and bark” direction only works until the 2nd verse…….
Bring your grand-children. This show should probably be target marketed towards children – they won’t be scared, they won’t mind that the adults are taking themselves very seriously, and they won’t wonder about the lack of everything that would usually makeup a Musical.
Photos by Marc Brenner:
Creative team:
Director/Choreographer Sarah O’Gleby
Musical Supervisor Chris Hatt
Musical Director Chris Ma
Designer Lee Newby
Lighting Designer Jamie Platt
Sound Designer Andrew Johnson
Associate Director/Choreographer Michaeljon Slinger
Casting Harry Blumenau for Debbie O’Brien Casting
Book and Lyrics Marcus Stevens
Music and Orchestrations Oran Eldor
Produced by Steven M. Levy and Vaughan Williams for Charing Cross Theatre Productions.
Further Info:
Steven M. Levy and Vaughan Williams for Charing Cross Theatre Productions
present
MYTHIC
an imortal new musical
Book and Lyrics by Marcus Stevens
Music by Oran Eldor
Charing Cross Theatre
The Arches
Villiers Street
London
WC2N 6NL
www.charingcrosstheatre.co.uk
Box office: 08444 930650
Monday 1 October – Saturday 25 November, 2018
Performances
Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm
Matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2.30pm
Previews
Monday 1 October at 7.30pm
Tuesday 2 October at 7.30pm
Wednesday at 7.30pm
Thursday 4 October at 7.30pm
Friday 5 October at 7.30pm
Saturday 6 October at 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Ticket prices
Premium £42.50 which includes prime
stalls locations, a programme and a
glass of bubbly
Stalls from £35.00
Balcony from £25.00
Slips £17.50
A booking fee applies to phone and internet
orders; no booking fee to personal callers
The box office is open from 2 hours
before curtain time on performance days for
personal callers
website: www.charingcrosstheatre.co.uk
Twitter: @CharingCrossThr
Facebook: CharingCrossThr
Instagram:CharingCrossThr
